Genesis Church -

What does that mean? God has poured His grace, thought and creativity into Genesis Church for a Christ-centered assignment. At the very birth of Genesis Church it was determined that the ongoing assignment from God was to cultivate deepening relationships with and for Christ. God has placed Genesis Church in Northern Michigan and resourced it to reach out to those who are on the “outside” of relationship with God and to help disciples of Jesus to further surrender their lives to Him.

Our church now stands at the cusp of an awesome opportunity: A building project to provide a facility to grow our church and serve the greater community. Just as each of us is designed for mission, the leadership has been working to design this facility so that we will have a place to carry out the mission Christ has given us.

The Genesis History & Vision

“Genesis Church is gathered together to make disciples of Christ who will make more disciples of Christ and to plant churches that will plant more churches.”

Genesis began in a movie theater in 2005, with a core group of about 25 adults led by Norm and Brenda

Byers. The movie theater provided a venue to meet people of Petoskey in a neutral place while sharing the truth of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many times when meeting in the theater the question would be asked,

“So when are you going to build a church?” And the answer was:

“The church is not a building, but the church is the people of God on a mission!” Our growing congregation now meets at Petoskey High School and has an average weekly attendance of 250 worshipers. Thank you, God!

In a desire to imitate Christ, our leadership made a commitment to plant new churches before constructing a building of our own. In 2010, 30 adults from Genesis Petoskey joined the team led by Jamie and Kristie Woodall and launched Genesis Boyne City. Then in 2015, Will and Holly Henagan led another team to plant Genesis Harbor Springs.

We still believe the church is not a building but the church can use a building to further its mission. In the last four years, there has been a growing desire to establish a permanent site for Genesis Petoskey.

We initially pursued “redeeming”or repurposing an existing facility, however this option presented many challenges. In 2013 a parcel of land on Northmen Drive was purchased. ( The property is located adjacent to the Petoskey Public School's main campus and near the new sports stadiums.) After another round of considering other repurposing opportunities in early 2016, the elder team voted unanimously to move forward with construction of a new building on the land on Northmen Drive.

Genesis Next Steps

Our Next Step together is a big one: building a 16,000 square foot structure on our Northmen Drive property that will be called the Genesis Center. The building will provide permanent worship and multipurpose spaces, classrooms, office space and a youth room with a maximum capacity of over 1,000 people. The Genesis Center will be available to serve the schools and community throughout the week. The total cost of the project is $2,900,000. Currently we have $400,000 on hand and the leadership team has put forth a goal of raising $2,500,000 during a three year campaign. $1,500,000 needs to be committed through pledges before the construction can begin. We are building thee Genesis Center to:

Your Next Steps from Norm Byers on behalf of the Elders

We stand as a church at a historic crossroads of challenge and opportunity. What happens now will have a huge impact on the future. These are exciting days!

This is a great occasion for all of us to trust God more and see what God has at the end of this process. It is a stretching time and a thrilling time to remember that God has all the resources. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or even imagine according to his power at work with in us...” (Ephesians 3:20).

God chooses to do His work through His followers. I encourage you to prepare for this opportunity to give by seeking God’s leading. As God prompts you to sacrifice it will be an act of worship and gratitude.

These gifts will help Genesis put roots down in this community and grow the influence of Jesus Christ. Together we will leave a kingdom legacy. I can't wait to see what God does through Genesis Church!